Blade-sharpening machine.



A w. E. NIC KERSON. BLADE SHARPENING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7,I9l5 Patented Augq'i, 1917-.

' 14 SHEETS+SHEETIL Patented Aug. 7,1917. 14 SHEETS SHEET w. E. NIC'KERSON.

, 'BLADE SHARPENING MACHl'NE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7 {M53} PatentedAug. 7,1917;

14 SBEETS -SHEET H- E. NICKERSON.

BLA'DE SHARPENING MACHINE.-

' APPLICATION FILED SEPT; 1, "H5- 1,23 ,590.

' W. E. NICKERSON. BLADE SHARPENING MACHINE:-. APPLICATJQN FILED SE'PTJ.1915.

- Patented-Aug. 7, 1917 s re;

n are.

WILLIAM E. NICKERSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN'OR T0 GILLETTESAFETY RAZOR COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,.-A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

in" 0 all whom it may concern: I v Y Be it known that I, WVILLIAM E.NIoKER- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing I at Cambridge, inthe county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented newand useful Improvements in Blade- Sharpening Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention, which relates in general to blade-sharpening machines,is particularly of sharpening double-edged razor blades such as are usedin the Gillette safety razor, but it can be utilized without substantialmodification for sharpening otherwise similar blades which have a singlecutting edge only, and it can be readily adapted for sharpening otherblades and cutting implements. v i

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the machine as preferablyconstructed for the specific purpose above referred to,

Figure 1v is a front elevation showing the complete machine with theexception of certain overhead mechanism hereinafter described; i

Fig. 2

' end of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showingcertain parts at the front of themachine as viewed from the right;

Fig. 4 is a' side elevation showing the, grinding wheel and the partswhich hold the blade upon the same, as viewed from the lefti Fig. 5 is apartial rear elevation showing certain parts in section on the line 5.5in

Fig. 2;,

Fig. 6 1s aside elevation, as viewed from. the right, of a mechanlsmwhich carries'the blade to and from the blade holder and also reversesit side for side;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in'Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing the Specification of Letters Patent.

is a side elevation of the left-hand 'BLADESI-IARPENING MACHINE.

grinding wheel and a mechanism for revers- Patented Aug. '2', 1917.Application filed September.?, 1915.- Serial N 0. 49,164.

blade-carrying mechanism shown in Figs. 6

and 7 and the blade-reversing mechanism shown 1n Fig. 8, the plane ofsection being ndicated'by the line 9-9 in Fig. 1;

Flg. 10 is in part a central longitudinal section and in part a sideelevation of the blade-revers1ng mechanis1n shown in Fig. 8,

as viewed from the opposite side, this figure belng drawn to a largerscale than Fig. 8;

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are detail views of the means employed for limitingthe rotation of the spindle shown in Fig. 10, Fig. 11 being a section ontheline 1111 in Fig. 10;

' F 14 is in part a central longitudinal section and in part a frontelevation of the blade holder and certain adjacent parts;

Fig. 15 is a section on the line l515 in 1 p suction device hereinafterdescribed;

Fig. 18 is a front elevation showing an Fig. 14;

. Fig. 16 is a section on the line 16l6 in j Fig. .14; y

Fig. 17 is a vertical section illustrating a The working parts of themachine illustrated in Fig". 1 of the drawings are carried by a generalbase plate A which is adaptedto rest on a bench .and has bolted toitother base pieces which support certain groups of the parts employed.One of these base pieces, B, carries two standards B, Bf, Fig. 8, inwhich is journaled a horizontal shaft B extending from front to back andprovided at its front end with at grinding wheel, B This'wheel iscylindrical in form and has an abrading surface suitable for theparticular purpose for which the machine is to be used, the machinebeing equally adapted for. rough-grinding blade edges and for honingthesame". The shaftB is pro vided at .its rear end with a belt pulley Bwhereby the shaft is continuously rotated .by belt connections (notshown) to the overhead mechanism hereinafter described. Said shaft isalso continuously reciprocated in an axial direction by means ofanoscillating horizontal arm 13 centrally mounted on a fixed stud B andforked at one end to embrace the shaft Bfiwhich has fixed to it twospaced collars B between which are located two. diametrically-oppositerolls B carried joints are employed for connecting the ends of the rod Bto the arm B and crank pin B respectively, in order to provide for thenecessary movements of these parts.

To the front portion ofthe base plate A is bolted another base piece Ccarrying a pair of uprights C in the upper ends of which atransversely-extending horizontal rod C is secured in fixed position.This rod supports and serves asa pivotal bearing for two frames, one ofwhich, Cflhas its side arms mounted on said rod C just-outside into theplate C.

s determined by two eccentrics G pivotally of the uprights C andextendin forward therefrom, so that the front portion of the frame iscapable of upward and downward movement. At its front "end this frame C.is provided with lugs C carryinga pair of horiz ontalp-ivot screwswhich point toward each other in the same axial line, and on the opposedinner ends of these screws is pivotally supported a vertical plate Chaving a flat front face against which rests the flat rear face ofanother plate C carrying a laterally-extending bar C the plate C and barC being pivotally'mounted on a cap bolt C passing through them and Saidbar C? is provided with a longitudinal slot (1 for the recep tion of thebolt C and has a threaded bolt c screwed into its rear end and bearingagainst said bolt C so that the bar can be adjusted endwise. Itsangularposition on the front face of the plate C is adjustably mountedon said plate C and arranged to bear against the opposite edges of theplate C" on opposite sides of the bolt C". When properly adjustedtheplate C is firmly clamped upon the plate C by tightening said bolt. i

The left hand end of the bar C carries the blade holder C which has astem C extending longitudinally into and rotatable in said bar C whereit is removably retained by a locking piece C pressed into an annulargroove C in said stem by a spring C", as shown in Fig. 14:. This bladeholder comprises a blade-supporting plate C provided with a pair ofupwardly-extending tapering pins C which are adapted to enter the endperforations in a Gillette blade and accurately position the same onsaid plate, with the edge of the blade projecting somewhat beyond theedge of the plate. A clamping plate C hinged at one edge to the otherpartsof the blade holder is acted upon'by springs C Fig. 9, which tendto hold it down upon the blade when inserted in the holder. The holderis opened by lifting the plate C whenever it is necessary to'insert orremove a blade. v

The plate C has its flat front face main-- tained in a verticalposition. as it moves upward and downward by means of a parallel-motionarrangement comprising an upwardly-extending arm C pivotally con nectedat its upper end to the front end of a link C, the rear end of which ispivoted to the right-hand end of a transverselyextending bar C. This baris carried by an arm C extending upwardly from a hub 0 Fig. 5, which ispivotally nfounted'on the rod C between the uprights C said hub beingalso provided with a downwardlyextending arm C having a forked lower endwhich embracesatransversely-extending web C as'shown in Fig. 3. Theforks at the lower end of said arm C are provided with screws C whichbear against the opposite sides of the webC, so that by adjusting saidscrews the verticality of the plate C can be accurately secured. I

The other frame, D, which is carried by the rod C comprisesforwardly-extending arms D D pivotally mounted on the ends of the rodand connected below the frame C by a cross bar D The left hand arm Dextends forward to aposition over the grinding wheel Bfl'whe're' itcarries a plate 'D* pivotally mounted on a horizontal bolt D extendingat right angles to the axis of the wheel 13*. In the lower edge of theplate D is formed a vertical recess extending from front to back andcontaining a pressure bar I) which is held in the recess by a pin Dpassing through the same, the bar being adapted to rock slightly on thispin.v By

reason of the pivoting of the frame D on the rod C the plate D iscapable of movement upward and downward, and during such movement it ismaintained with itsloweredge in a substantially horizontal posit1on bymeans of a parallel-motion arrange ment similar to that employed forkeeping the plate 3C vertical in all positions, and comprising anupwardly-extending arm D carried bv said plate D and pivoted at itsupper end to a link-D the rear end of which is pivoted to the left-handend of the bar C 7. 7

. The parts above described are so arranged that when ablade is insertedin the blade holder C and applied to the grinding wheel i blade isremoved from the holder.

automatically, the insertion, moval of the blade and its application tothe the various parts.

present machine the parts 13 by lowering the plate O ground rests on thetop of wheel directly over its axis parallelism therewith, and is theedge to be the grinding and in exact presented to the grinding surfaceat an angle corresponding tothe bevel of said" edge. Since the stem C isrotatable in the bar C the blade holder is self-adjusting to the topsurface of the wheel. After a blade has thus been applied to thegrinding wheel the plate D islowered until the pressure bar D bears upontakes place with the parts in the position just described, which is theposition shown in Fig. 1, and after this operation has been completedthe plate D is lifted, leaving the blade holder free to be lifted andopened for the removal-of the blade.

As described thus far the machine has substantially the sameconstruction and mode of operation as the grinding machine forming thesubject matter of U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,126,839, dated February'Q,1915, to which reference may be made for a more complete description ofthe details of construction and the mode of operation of For presentpurposes it will suffice to point out that after a blade has been placedin the holder its projecting edge is ground first on one side and thenon the other, the blade being reversed side for side between these twogrinding operations, and then the blade is reversed edge for edge in theholder and its other edge is ground first on one side and then 9n theother in the same manner, whereupon the In the use ofthe patentedmachine, however, although each grinding operation is stopped reversaland regrinding wheel are all manual operations performed by anattendant, whereas in the already described are associated with and the,grinding operations but also insert the blades one by one in the bladeholder, lower 7 of another yoke E the frames which carry the bladeholder and pressure bar, effect the necessary changes in the position ofthe blades with relation to the holder, and remove the blades therefromwhen sharpened, the grinding of each blade takes stack, carries eachblade to the blade holder and places it therein, takes the blade from tothe point of it.

anisms and supplemented by automatic mechanisms which not only stop edgebeing followed by the operation in proper'sequence of the various partswhich.

effect the nextsucceeding change I11 the posi tion of the blade untilfinally the sharpened blade is' deposited in tion.

The automatic mechanisms abovereferred to may be constructed andarranged for operation in various ways, but as preferably constructedand arranged there are three main groups of parts, one of which groupsthe blades one by one from. a supply a predetermined locathe bladeholder when sharpened, carries it delivery and therejrdeposits reversingthe blade side for side after one side of the blade edge has beenground. Another group of parts takes the blade from the blade holderafter one edge has been ground on both sides,'revers'es it edge theblade holder for edge and replaces it in in position to have its otheredge ground, but this group is not required in case singleedged bladesare to be ground. The third group of parts is utilized for applyingpower to the blade manipulating and mechanisms and timing theiroperation, and constitutes what has been referred to as the overheadmechanism, being located above said blade manipulating and g connectedthereto belts and the like as hereinafter explained.

hese various mechanisms and associated parts, as constructedandarrangedin the specific machine illustrated in the drawings,

will now be described- The blade-carrying mechanism, the de tails ofwhich are illustrated in Fi s. l, 2, 6, 7 and 9,

comprises a vertical spindle E "rotatably mounted in the front end E ofa bracket E which is secured to the forwardly-projectingupper end of asupporting plate E? bolted to the left-hand the base plate A. At itslower end the spin dle D a transversely extending hub carries E 1n wh1chis rotatably mounted a llOIlzontal blade-carrying spindle E to one endof which are pivoted two blade-gripping jaws E located one above theother and having a spring E interposed between their outer ends forseparatingthem. The jaws 6 are operated a conical sleeve E looselymounted'on the spindle E and provided at its base with an' annulargroove in which is located a yoke E having diametrically-opposite pins Eprojecting outward therefrom. These pins enter the notched upper ends ofthe arms carried by 'a lever E which is pivotally supported between apair of arms E carried by and extending downward from the hub E and-isconnected at its opposite end to an upwardly-extending grinding rindingmechby pull rods, I

edge of.

This group of parts is also utilized for to grip a blade by means of rodE At its upper end this rod passes through. and is guided by a platexEfixed to the upper end of the spindle E, and is surrounded by a spring Ewhich tends to force said rod downward and thereby draw the sleeve Ebackward with respect to the and rotate with the spindle E the jaws canbe opened or closed in any position into which they may be moved bythe'rot'ation of said spindle. A ball bearing E is interposed betweenthe lower end of the bracket E and the opposed upper portion of the hubE in order to prevent undue frictional resistance to the rotation of thespindle E'when the parts carried thereby are subjected to lift-' ingstrains.

The spindle E and the parts which it carries are rotated in onedirection by means of a pinion E secured to the spindle just below theplate E and meshing with a rack E arranged to slide horizontally in aforward and backward direction, the rack being guided during suchmovements by a roller E mounted on the bracket E and by a perforation insaid bracket through which a .rearward extension of the rack passes.Said rack E is operated by a link E connecting its rear end to anupwardlyextending armE secured at its lower end to a rock shaft Ejournaled in the plate E arm E which extends forwardly, so that when itis moved upward the rack E is drawn backward, and this movement resultsin rotating the spindle E in such direction as to swing theblade-gripping jaws E toward the blade holder C The return movement ofsaid jaws is effected by a spring E surrounding the rock shaft E andoperating on the arm E The plate E has two outwardly-extending stop armsE and E adapted to strike,

respectively, against the opposite sides of an upwardly-projecting lug Eon the bracket E and thereby limit the rotational movements of the.spindle E in both directions. By means of these stop arms and a movablestop hereinafterdescribed the jaws E are causedto come to rest at threedifferent points. At one of these points they are in position to takev ablade from the source of supply, at another point they are in positionto deposit a sharpened blade, and at the other point they are inposition to place a blade in the blade holder C or to take a bladetherefrom. These three positions'are illustrated in Fig. 9, in which thecurved broken line indicates the horizontal path of movement of theouter extremities The rock shaft E carries another of the jaws. Theblade holder C is located at one end of this path, and at its-other endis located a blade stack supporter consisting the pins F passing throughthe perforationsin all the blades and accurately positioning 7 them oneabove another. The block F and the blade stack which it carries can beraised until the topmost blade in the stack, what ever the height of thestack may be, is brought into contact with a stationary suction devicewhich retains this blade when theblock is lowered, thereby separating itfrom the other blades in the stack and freeing it from the pins F Theblock F is raised and lowered by means of an upwardlyextending rod Fconnected at its lower end to a'lever F which is pivoted at its rear endto a fixed support F andhas its front end located in a vertical slot 15in the lower end of the rod F where itpasses between two cross pins FThe rod F is guided at its upperend by passing through a perforation ina plate F secured to the top of the plate E and is surrounded by aspring F which supplements the action of gravlty when the block F islowered by .lowering said rod F The suction device above referredto islocated directly above the block F and comprises, as shown in Fig. 17 abody portion F having a soft rubber pad F secured tov its under side.The pody portion F is carriedfby a holder F having a vertical stem Fwhich passes ilpward through the outer end of an arm F 5 rotatablymounted at its other end on a vertical pin F carried by the plate E Thebody portion F pad F holder F and arm F are collectively provided withtwo vertical perforations F adapted to receive the pins F respectively,and on its flat bottom face said pad is provided with two annulargrooves F each surrounding one of the perforations F. From each of thesegrooves an open passage F leads 'to another passage F extending upwardthrough the holder F and its stem F, the upper end of which forms anipple for the reception of a flexible tube F through which air iswithdrawn for the purpose of exerting suction on the successive bladeswhen in contact with the bottom stack and above the upper ends of thepins F by means of a spring F (Fig. 2) acting on the arm F, from whichposition said suctiondevice can be swung backward by hand and thusremoved from above the upper ends of the pins F so as to permit a stackof unground blades to be placed on the block F. An adjustable stop screwF carried by the arm F accurately locates the normal position of saidarm, the suction device being capable of adjustment within the outer endof the arm by rotating the stem F therein until the perforations F arebrought exactly in line with the pins F which enter the perforationswhen the block.

F moves upward.' After "adjustment the suction device is clamped infixed relation to the arm F by lock nuts F on the stem F g a When ablade is held by suction against the bottom face of the pad F it lies inthe horizontal plane in which the jaws E meet when closed and'projectsat its front edge somewhat beyond said pad, which is so ad,- justed thatwhen the open jaws stop in their blade-receiving position they embracethe projecting edge of the blade and are located midway between itsends, with the lengthof the blade extending at right angles tothe lengthof the j aw-carrying spindle E5. The blade is gripped by the jaws andheld in this relation thereto while they carry it to the blade holder Cat the'op-' posite extremity of their path of movement,

and when the jaws stop at the end of such movement the blade is heldthereby in the position in which it is received by the blade holder andsubsequently taken therefrom. Consequently the reversal of the bladeside for side with respect to the blade holder can be accomplished byimparting a half rotation'to the spindle E5 while the blade is held bythe jaws E since the resulting movement of the blade will not otherwiseaffect its position in any way, and this method of reversing the bladeside for side is employed in the present machine for the reason that itavoids the necessity of rotating the blade holder in the bar C for thesame purpose, as is done in the use of the patented machine abovereferred to, and thus makes it possible to effect the automatic openingand closing of said holder by the simple mechanism hereinafterdescribed.

The spindle is rotated in one direction by lifting a lever E pivoted atone end to a fixed bracket E secured to the top of the plate E in suchposition that the lever extends directly over the upper endvof thevertical spindle E. The other end of said lever is pivoted to the upperendof a rod E connected at its lower end to a chain flange E cooperatingwith another stop flange E on the hub E to confine the rotationalmovements of the spindle to an angle of 180. The stop flanges E and Eare from the blade holder bracket Ef",

to cause the pins position of engagenormally held in one surrounding thehub ment by a spring-'13 E and acting on the drum E so that the jaws Eare turned completely over by liftbetween the extremities of theirswinging movement, and since said jawsare moved by the spring E itsuifi'ces to employ a '.movable stop for arresting them in theirblade-depositing position' The stop employed for this purpose consistsof'a pin E arranged to slide vertically in lugs E carried by the frontend portion E? of the said a spring E which operates to force its upperendv into the path of movement of a stud E carried by the plate E on itsbottom face. The stop pin is withdrawn from the path of movement of thestud E by lifting the rear end of a'lever E 'Ipivotally supported on thebracket E and having its'front end located in a vertical slot formed inthe lower end of said pin to the supply stack pin being surrounded bywhere it passes between two cross pins E.

When the stud ET? is located in front of and in contact withthe upperend of the stop pin E the jaws E are in such position that a bladecarried thereby is held over another stacksupporting block G, with the.end perforations in the blade directly above the tapered upper ends oftwo pins G carried by said blockand extending verticallyupward-therefrom.- The block G is supported by a rod GZ' mounted toslide vertically in a fixed guide Gr carried by the arm F and is raisedand lowered by means similar to those employed for raising and loweringthe block F and comprising a lever Gr pivoted at its rear end to a fixedsupport-Gr and having itsfront end located in a vertical slot G in thelower end of the rod G where it asses between two crosspins G An uprightrod G is pivoted at its lower end to the lever G and guided at its upperend by passing through a perforation in a plate G secured to the top ofthe plate E so that by lifting said rod the block G may be elevatedsufficiently G to enter the perfora tions in the blade held above them,the blade being retained'bythese pins when the jaws are opened and moveaway. The

block G is forced downward when the rod Gr is lowered by means of aspring G surrounding said rod.

' In order to facilitate the removal of the accumulated bladessuccessively deposited onthe block G, said block is removably supportedon a plate G secured to the top of the rod G and provided with twoupwardly-extending positioning pins G Fig. 9; which enterperforations inthe block G. Thus the block G with its pins G and the stack of bladesthereon can be lifted bodily from the plate G and replaced after theblades have been removed. If preferred, the stack of blades can belifted from the block G without removing the latter, the ends of theblock being beveled as at G Fig. 9, to facilitate the grasping of theends of the stack by the attendant.

The mechanism for reversing the blades edge for edge is shownin Figs. 8,9 and 10, and comprises 'a rotatable spindle H extending horizontallyfrom front to back 1n the rear of and above the grinding wheel B*, andprovided with a pair of blade-gripping jaws and with means foroperating. these jaws and rotating the splndle which are similar to thecorresponding parts em- 'ploy'ed for the like purposes in connectionwith the blade-carrying spindleE". Provision is made for moving the,spindle H in the direction of its axis by journaling a portion of thelength of the spindle in a sleeve H which is itself adapted to slideforward and backward in the outer end of abracket H carried by a plate Hbolted to the right hand face of the plate E The sleeve H is preventedfrom rotating on the spindle H as an axisby means of a fixed guide rod Hcarried by and extending rearwardly from the bracket H parallel with thespindle, and passing through a lug H projecting laterally from a hub Hwhich is clamped upon the sleeve near its rean end. The rear portion ofthe spindle H is supported by a bracket H carried by the late .H inwhich bracket thespindle is adapted to rotate and slide longitudinally.The jaws H carried by the'spindle H are pivoted to the front end of thelatter and provided between their front ends with a spring H forseparating them, and are. operated to grip a blade by means of a conicalsleeve H loosely mounted on the spindle H and adapted to wedge apart therear ends of the jaws when said. sleeve H is forced forward. This sleeveis operated by means of a yoke H enteringan annular grooye in the sleeveand secured to the front end of a horizontal rod H mounted to slidelongitudinally in supports H and H carried by a collar H clamped uponthe front end of the sleeve H and by the hub H respectively. A bellcrank lever H pivotally supported between the arms of a bracket Hextending upward from the support H, as shown inFig. 10, has itsdownwardly-projecting arm forked at its lower end to receive the rearend of the rod H and provided with notches in which are located the endsof a transversely-ex tending pin H carried by said rod, so that bylifting the forwardly-extending arm of the lever H the rod'H isforcedfor- Ward to close the jaws H The sleeve H is moved backwardby aspring H surrounding and acting on the rod H The spindle H is rotatedin'one direction by lifting a lever H pivoted at one end to the top ofthe support H and connected at its other end to a chain H passing arounda drum H, which is secured to the spindle H ,in the rear of the sleeve Hand carries a stop flange H cooperating vith another stop flange H onsaid sleeve 1 to confine the rotational movements of the spindle to anangle of 180. The stop flanges H and H are normally held in one positionof engagement by a spring H surrounding the sleeve H and acting on a pinH carried by the stop flange H on the drum H. In-

' asmuch as the parts which rotate the spindle H and operate the jaws Hall move forward and backward with the spindle, they are equallyoperative in any longitudinal position of said spindle and jaws.

The jaws H are normally located one above the other at the sameelevation as the jaws .E", and the location of the spindle H is suchthat when it reaches the limit of its forward movement said jaws are inposition to embrace the rear end of a blade supported by the bladecarrier 0 and grip it 'of the blade in line with the axis of thespindle. Hence the blade can be reversed edge foredge by imparting ahalf rotation to the spindle H while the blade is held by the jaws H theresult of which operation is to turn the blade over without otherwiseaffecting its position. The spindle H is moved forward by lifting theforwardlyextending arm of a bell crank lever H pivot-ally supported byan arm H bolted to the top of the bracket H the lower end of said leverbeing connected by a link H to the hub H at one side of the latter. asshown in Figs. 5 and 8. A collar H clamped on the spindle in front ofthe hub H serves as a stop for arresting the forward movement of thespindle by engaging the rear face of the bracket H and a spring- Hconnecting the collar H and the bracket H draws the spindle backwardwhenever such movement is permitted.

It will be evident that the blade-rotating mechanism just described isstructurally and functionally independent of the other mechanisms tosuch an extent that it may be left idle or omitted entirely withoutmaking it necessary to change any of the other parts. in case themachine is to be used for grinding blades having a single cutting edge.

The mechanism for opening and closing the blade holder C comprises alink I pivbtally connected at one end to the top of the

